Floor jack



April 28, 1925. 1,535,278

J. YARBRQUGH FLOOR JACK Filed Jan. 22, 1925 Jolzn yazzbzzag gfg ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES JOHN YARBBOUGH, OF HIGH SHOALS, NORTH CAROLINA.

' FLOOR JACK.

Application filed January 22, 1925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN YARBROUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at High Shoals, in the county of Gaston and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Floor Jacks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to floor jacks.

The object is to provide a strong and durable device for use in the laying of flooring, etc, which, when properly applied and manipulated, is capable of delivering a powerful thrust to a piece of flooring, whether heavy or light, to force the same into :interfitting relation to the last strip se cured in position, with the tongue of one piece properly seated in the groove of the other, so as to enable the workman to nail the strip while being thus held, and also to use strips that may be warped or out of alinement.

Another object is to provide a device for the above purpose which may be readily applied to the joists or other support for the flooring at any point, and then engaged wlth the edge of the strip to be laid and, by a simple pressure on a lever, to gently force the latter into proper position, without any danger of damaging the bead thereof nor the side edges of the groove.

A final object is to provide a floor jack which is simple of construction, being devoid of any delicate parts which would quickly become broken Or out of order under the great strain to which the device is subjected .in use, and one which maybe easily and quickly operated without any adjustment or requiring any special skill or experience.

A full and complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, it being understood that while the drawing shows a practical form of the invention, the latter is not to be confined to strict conformity with the showing thereof, but may be changed or modified, so long as such changes or modifications mark no material de parture from the salient features of the invention, as specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures Serial No. 4,031.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved jack in operation of forcing a floor board into position for nailing the same;

Figure 2 is a detail perspective view of the floor jack, the operating handle or lever being broken away;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device.

Great difficulty is sometimes encountered in the laying of floors, especially of heavy floors such as used in factories, mills, etc., where the floor boards are two or three inches thick, and where very often some of the boards are found to be Warped to such an extent as torender it impossible to interfit the tongues into the grooves of the same, and such diiiiculty is also very often found in ordinary flooring of the usual thickness. In order to utilize such flooring which, in both the heavy and the lighter grades, is expensive, some powerful means must be employed for fitting the pieces together, and such means must exert a downward pressure of great force so as to true the warped or defective strip by levelling the same across the tops of the series of joists, which are supposedly level, and at the same time, the pressure must slide the said piece along said tops and into abutting relation to the previously nailed strip, with the tongue proper- 1y entering the aforesaid groove of said strip.

' The present device is designed to supply these necessary features, and the nature, construction, and mode of operation of the same will become apparent from the following description in connection with the drawing.

The improved floor jack comprises an elongated handle or operating lever 1, which is formed of suitable metal of the length deemed necessary to give the desired power,

and said handle terminates in an integral shank portion 2 in longitudinal alinement therewith and preferably rectangular in cross section, while the aforesaid handle portion is preferably rounded.

The free end of the shank portion is formed into a fork having spaced side arms 3, the outer faces of which are wider apart than the sides of the rectangular shank portion 2, and which curve upwardly and away from the top face of the said Sf'lulik, as clearly shown in the drawing.

The arms 3 of the said fork are provided with alined apertures 4, and between said arms there is pivotally mounted a spike 5 having, intermediate its ends, a transverse aperture for the reception of a pin 6, the

ends of which are seated in the aforesaid apertures 4; of the arms. The lower, projecting end of the spike, is pointed as at 7, while the upper end 8 is wedge-shaped and extends longitudinally along the upper taco oi the shank 2, said spike thus having a rocking movement in its mounting upon the shank end of the operating handle.

Arranged below the shank is a rockable presser toot adapted to contact with the piece or strip of flooring about to be laid. The presser toot comprises a transversely disposed abutment member 9, preferably extending an equal distance beyond each side of the shank, and provided in its rear face with a longitudinally disposed groove 10 extending throughout its length, said groove being for the purpose of receiving the tongue of the flooring strip to prevent damaging the same when power is applied to the device, as shown in l igure 1 of the drawing.

Formed integrally with the abutment member 9 is a shank 11 in longitudinal aliuement with and arranged beneath the shank 2, the two shanks being substantially oi the same width and angularly related to each other, as viewed from the side.

The free end of the shank 11 is provided with a pair of spaced, upstanding arms 12, which are curved, as viewed from the side, and which are separated a suiiicient distance to receive the shank 2 of the operating handle therebetween and also the upper end of the spike. The arms 12, as well as the said shank 2 are provided with alined apertures, tor the reception of a pivot pin 13, which acts as a fulcrum for the operating handle when the latter is manipulated in a manner to be described.

The arms 12 extend somewhat above the upper surface of the spike, and are provided with apertures for the reception of a transversely disposed pin 14, spaced a dis tance from the pivot pin 13 sutficient to allow a limited rocking movement of the spike about its pivot before the same is stopped by the pin 11;.

The terminals oi the arms 12 of the presser toot, above the last-named pin 14, are further provided with apertures for the reception of the ends of a pivot pin 15, upon which is pivoted the butt end of a dog 16 extending rearwardly or upwardly along the shank 2 of the operating handle, the tree terminals of the said dog being properly bevelled for engagement with the transverse teeth of a rack 17, which may be either formed integrally at the upper face of the shank of the operating handle, or formed in a separate piece and suitably secured in place thereon, as shown in the drawing.

in using the device, the handle 1 is firmly grasped, and the point 7 of the spike is thrust into the upper face of the proper i is at about the angle indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawing. The device is then leaned toward the flooring until the depending, angularly disposed presser foot 9 is on a level with the strip of flooring about to be laid. The head oi said strip introduced into the groove 10, when, with the point of the spike still maintaining its hold in the joist, the handle is pressed turther downward. The rocking movement of the spike about the pivot 6, as limited by its contact with the face of the shank 2 and with the pin let, serves to facilitate such maintenance of engagement, as the spike may retain a more nearly vertical position while the handle is being pressed downward and the point of the spike is not so apt to be withdrawn from the joist. lVith the point 7 and the presscr foot 9 bearing on the joist and floor respectively, the lever 1 is caused to rock about its pivot 13, thus raising the pivot 6 and causing the spike to bear at its upper end against the stop pin 14. As a result, the distance between the presser toot and the point of the spike is increased, and the board, which is not only held down by the presser footto straighten the same out, is also forced into engagement with the adjacent board, as will be seen. The downward movement of the lever 1 causes the active end of the dog 16 to successively engage a tooth closer to the point of the fulcrum of the lever, with the result that the lever is locked down, and the pressure upon the board is maintained by the device until the nails are driven in the usual manner. The jack may then be moved to another joist and the operation repeated.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple and cheaply manufactured floor jack has been provided, which may be readily handled by a carpenter in laying floors of varying thickness, and easily applied in position and operated to force the boards into proper position and holding the same for nailing, and that in the use of the device as described, great power may be applied for the purpose and without danger of damaging the beads or grooves 01'? the floor boards.

hat is claimed is 1. A floor jack comprising a hand lever, a spike pivoted at an intern'iediate point of its length to the end of the lever and extending over the latter, a floor board engaging pr-esser toot pivoted on the lever and having means engaging the spike above the lever for limiting the rocking movement of the spike, a rack carried by the hand lever, and a dog pivoted to the inner end of the presser foot to engage the teeth of the rack.

2. A floor jack comprising a hand lever having its active end formed into an upturned fork, a longitudinally disposed holding spike intermediately fulcrumed in said fork and located above the lever, a presser foot having a shank terminating in a bifurcation, said hand lever being fulcrumed within said bifurcation adjacent to the fork, a pin carried by the bifurcation to limit the rocking movement of the spike therein, a rack provided on the upper side of the hand lever, and a dog pivoted between the ends of the arms of the bifurcation and engaging the rack.

3. A floor jack comprising a presser foot for engaging a floor board, a shank projecting from the presser foot at right angles thereto and terminating in upturned spaced arms, a hand lever fulcrumed between said arms, an upturn-ed fork formed on the lower end of the hand lever, a spike intermediately pivoted in the fork and adapted to lie longitudinally on top of the lever, the lower free end thereof being pointed to engage a joist in opposition to the presser foot, the upper end of the spike extending between the said arms, means to limit rocking movement of the spike, a longitudinal rack provided on the hand lever, and an upwardly extending dog pivoted at one end between the upper ends of the arms and adapted to engage the teeth of the rack and hold the presser foot when the handle is pressed down.

4. A floor jack comprising a presser'foot for engagement with a floor board, a shank extending at right angles from the presser foot, said shank terminating at its free end in upturned, spaced arms, a hand lever pivoted adjacent to one end between the lower portions of said arms, said lever terminating at its shorter end in an upturned fork, a spike pivoted intermediate of its ends for limited rocking movement in said fork, the lower, free end of said spike being pointed to engage a joist, the upper end of the spike projecting between the said spaced arms, a pin traversing the latter to limit the rocking movement of the spike, a longitudinal series of transversely arranged rack teeth mounted on the upper face of the hand lever, and a dog pivoted at its lower end between the ends of the spaced arms and adapted to engage at its free end in one of the rack teeth to hold the pointed end of the spike and the presser foot separated, when the spike impinges a joist and the presser foot engages a floor board, and upon pressing downwardly on th handle bar.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature.

JOHN YARBROUG-H.

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